Requiring jail time for repeat drunken drivers may be an expensive proposition, but it’s worth pursuing.
A story by Denver Post reporter David Olinger estimates it could cost $20 million to mandate relatively short jail sentences for second- and third-time offenders. It’s a significant amount of money, especially during a recession when governments are cutting budgets.
We hope state legislators, as they consider sentencing changes this session, pay attention to the costs they would force on counties by imposing minimum mandatory sentences and treatment requirements for drunken- driving convictions.
It would be difficult for counties to shoulder an extra $20 million in costs, and the state certainly doesn’t have the money to pay for it. But the problem is too serious to ignore.
Through prison sentencing reform, it’s possible to save money by lessening penalties in some areas to pay for stiffer DUI sentences. At the very least, a third offense ought to trigger mandatory jail time.
Counties have taken notice.
“We’re not only going to have to pay the price to house them,” said Andy Karsian, legislative liaison for Colorado Counties Inc. “We’ll have to treat them, too.”
Almost 32,000 people were arrested for drunken driving in Colorado last year. Of those, more than 5,000 were second offenders, and 2,200 were three-time losers or worse.
The number of repeat offenders is worrisome, but even moreso if you consider the low odds of getting caught driving drunk. Nationwide, there is just one arrest for every 27,000 miles driven while drunk, according to National Highway Traffic Administration statistics cited by the authors of the book “SuperFreakonomics.”
Don Christensen, executive director of County Sheriffs of Colorado, points out that the cost of a first DUI ought to be enough to deter the casual drinker who gets caught. He estimates it at $10,000 for insurance premium increases, legal fees and fines.
He believes those with more than one arrest are likely to have a serious alcohol problem.
We were glad to see a state commission that had been considering mandatory jail time for repeat offenders is again looking at the matter.
Last month, in what was a confounding decision, the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice declined to recommend requiring jail sentences and treatment programs for repeat DUI offenders. Instead, they approved a recommendation that would reduce penalties for those caught driving on a suspended or revoked license.
Originally, the latter was supposed to help counties pay for the former — meaning if counties had fewer inmates serving time for driving on invalid or no licenses, they could afford to incarcerate more drunken drivers.
Although Colorado law already sets a 10-day jail sentence for a repeat DUI offense, it allows alternative sentences, and punishment can vary widely by county.
We hope the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice will come up with thoughtful recommendations on this serious issue, and that the legislature will keep in mind the costs counties will incur in housing and treating drunken drivers.
